2011 Review: Arsenal’s 10 defining moments

Optimism abounds as Arsenal’s year draws to a close but there have been numerous peaks and troughs along the way. As 2012 edges closer we look back at some of the defining moments from an extraordinary 12 months for the Club.

DECEMBER 10 - THE CLUB'S 125 CELEBRATIONS
Arsenal celebrated their 125th anniversary by paying tribute to heroes past and present on an emotional day at the Emirates. After unveiling statues of Herbert Chapman, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams, the Club welcomed Everton for the commemorative game. A number of Arsenal legends were presented to a packed stadium, referee Howard Webb used a sixpence to decide the kick-off and the great grandchildren of Club founder David Danskin took out the match ball. To cap off a memorable occasion for everyone associated with the Gunners, Van Persie fired in a sublime volley to claim three points for Wenger’s side.

OCTOBER 29 - CHELSEA 3-5 ARSENAL
The Gunners’ revival had started to build momentum after four successive victories, but the acid test of how far they had progressed would come at Stamford Bridge. Despite trailing 2-1 at half time, a reinvigorated Arsenal stormed out after the break to take the lead through goals from Santos and Walcott, before Mata fired in a late equaliser. However, a Terry slip gifted Van Persie the chance to put Wenger’s men ahead again, and the Dutch striker completed a wonderful hat trick with a last-gasp strike. Arsenal truly were back.

SEPTEMBER 25 - ARSENAL LADIES COMPLETE THE TREBLE
Laura Harvey’s side secured an historic Treble with a 4-1 victory against Birmingham City in the Continental Cup after goals from Ellen White, Jayne Ludlow and a Rachel Yankey brace. In an incredible season, Arsenal beat Birmingham to the Super League title by three points and won the FA Women’s Cup too. “These are really exciting times - we have a batch of young players who have stepped up this season and they will get better and better,” Harvey said.

AUGUST 30/31 - WENGER'S LATE SUMMER SIGNINGS
With the clock ticking down to the transfer deadline, Wenger made a number of late moves. The signings of Santos, Mertesacker, Arteta, Benayoun and Park - all full internationals – immediately injected greater depth and experience to Arsenal’s squad and led to a major upturn in form as the team climbed the table.

AUGUST 28 - MANCHESTER UNITED 8-2 ARSENAL
An injury-hit, depleted Arsenal side suffered the worst defeat of Wenger’s reign at Old Trafford. Despite the painful nature of the result, the Gunners’ travelling fans were widely praised for their vociferous support. Afterwards, Wenger admitted his squad was short in key areas, prompting him to re-enter the transfer market.

AUGUST 15-24 - CESC FABREGAS AND SAMIR NASRI LEAVE
After long-term speculation over his future, Fabregas returned Barcelona just two days after the start of the new season. The Spaniard made 303 appearances for the Club after joining in 2003, scoring 57 goals, and is widely regarded as having developed into one of the world’s best midfielders under Wenger’s tutelage. A week later Nasri also left the Emirates, moving to Manchester City in a big-money deal.

APRIL ONWARDS - STAN KROENKE INCREASES MAJORITY SHAREHOLDING
An Arsenal director since September 2008, Mr Kroenke made an offer for the Club in April. He had increased his majority shareholding to 66.64 per cent by June and it now stands at 66.82 per cent. Mr Kroenke purchased the shares of Danny Fiszman, shortly before the long-serving director’s tragic death at the age of 66 in April.

FEBRUARY 27 - ARSENAL 1-2 BIRMINGHAM
Wenger’s side were heavy favourites to win their first trophy in six years against struggling Birmingham in the Carling Cup Final, but they went behind to Zigic’s 28th-minute strike. Van Persie restored parity on the stroke of half-time with a sublime volley, but much as Arsenal pressed in the second half, they could not break down the stubborn Blues. With the game seemingly destined for extra-time, a defensive mix-up gifted Martins a heartbreaking late winner. It proved to be a turning point, as the Gunners won just three times in their last 14 games.

FEBRUARY 16 - ARSENAL 2-1 BARCELONA
Coming just 11 days after the result at St James’ Park, few gave Arsenal much hope against the imperious Catalans in their Champions League last-16 first leg. David Villa fired Barcelona in front after 26 minutes but the resilient Gunners refused to buckle. With Jack Wilshere in dominant form, Wenger’s side stormed back to claim a famous victory with goals from Van Persie and Arshavin. The Gunners went on to lose the second leg at the Nou Camp but proved they could beat the cream of Europe.

FEBRUARY 5 - NEWCASTLE 4-4 ARSENAL
Arsène Wenger’s side raced into a four-goal lead after just 26 minutes following strikes from Walcott, Djourou and a Van Persie brace. But Djourou’s injury and Diaby’s sending off five minutes after the break changed the course of the game and Newcastle took advantage to complete a late comeback in a result that showed both the best and the worst of the Gunners.

Source: Rob Kelly, Arsenal.com on 30 Dec 11

Yossi Benayoun's late header for Arsenal breaks Aston Villa

On a night of landmark goals, Yossi Benayoun upstaged Robin van Persie and Marc Albrighton to head home three minutes from time to haul Arsenal level with Chelsea and pile more misery on Alex McLeish and Aston Villa. Benayoun came off the substitutes' bench late in the second half to strike a blow that felt cruel on a Villa side who had produced an impressive performance that deserved so much more than a fourth home defeat in five matches.

Arsenal's winner came after Albrighton had etched his name into the record books with the 20,000th Premier League goal, the winger capitalising on a defensive mix-up between Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker. At that point Villa looked the more likely to go on and win the game, as an Arsenal team who had taken the lead through Van Persie's 34th Premier League goal of the calendar year – he has now equalled the club record Thierry Henry set in 2004 and is only two behind Alan Shearer – were pinned back for long periods.

Yet Villa's inability to defend corners resurfaced when Van Persie swung in a kick that Benayoun, one of the smallest players on the pitch, met with a free header to beat Brad Guzan. It was the ninth goal that Villa have conceded from a corner this season – both Liverpool's came via that source on Sunday – and allowed Arsenal to celebrate a win that even Arsène Wenger conceded was fortunate. "I can only congratulate Villa, they played well and gave everything," the Arsenal manager said.

"We got a very late three points that are vital for us. We were a bit unlucky on Sunday [against Manchester City] and today maybe a bit lucky. You could see that some legs were jaded from Sunday and some minds as well in the speed of the decision-making. But we kept going and there is an exceptional attitude and spirit in the side. And tonight, very unusually for us, we scored from two set-pieces. That is basically historical for us."

To rub salt into McLeish's wounds, Villa had Alan Hutton sent off in the closing seconds after the Scotland international picked up two yellow cards in the space of little more than a minute in stoppage time. Hutton became embroiled in a flare-up with Van Persie, for which he was cautioned, and then collected a second yellow followed by a red when he recklessly brought down Vermaelen. McLeish was particularly annoyed with the first incident. "Alan has just got to walk away from that," he said.

The Villa manager could, however, take great encouragement from a team display that galvanised their supporters. Villa played at a high tempo, pressing Arsenal when they were without the ball and attacking with purpose whenever they broke forward. Albrighton and Charles N'Zogbia in particular looked particularly dangerous on the flanks against a makeshift Arsenal back four that saw Francis Coquelin, a 20-year-old Frenchman who is a holding midfielder by trade, deployed at right‑back.

Villa had made the better start, as N'Zogbia created two chances for Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the opening 11 minutes, yet it was Arsenal that drew first blood. Theo Walcott turned Ciaran Clark with a neat piece of skill and the Villa midfielder, who was one of four changes from the side that lost so meekly to Liverpool, tugged at the shirt of the Arsenal winger, leaving Jonathan Moss, the referee, with no option but to point to the spot. Van Persie dispatched his penalty high into the roof of the net.

Although Walcott and Ramsey both had chances to double Arsenal's advantage, Villa finished the first half much the stronger and it was no surprise when they equalised shortly after the restart. It was a poor goal for Arsenal to concede, Vermaelen's header from Guzan's long punt upfield dropping a little short of Mertesacker, who was caught on his heels. Albrighton nipped in front of the central defender and beat Wojciech Szczesny with an assured finish.

Within the blink of an eye Mertesacker was denied at the opposite end and Van Persie was later booked for diving, when Moss adjudged the striker was falling to the ground before Stephen Warnock made contact with him in the area. That was a measure of Arsenal's desperation at a time when Villa were largely in control, although Benayoun's introduction nine minutes from time provided the late twist that left McLeish cursing what might have been. "If we play like that every game, I'll be quite confident," the Villa manager said.

20,000th Premier League goal to Albrighton
Marc Albrighton registered the 20,000th Premier League goal, 19 years after Brian Deane scored the first, to write his name into the record books on Wednesday night. The Aston Villa winger pounced following a defensive misunderstanding between Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker to score Villa's goal in their 2-1 home defeat against Arsenal. Ryan Giggs had scored the 19,999th in Manchester United's 5-0 win at Fulham, paving the way for Albrighton to make the headlines when he beat Wojciech Szczesny. "It was great to score the goal," said Albrighton, who has donated the £20,000 cheque pledged by Barclays to Villa's official charity partner, Acorn's Children's Hospice. "It's one of those things you will remember for the rest of your life and people will remind you of for years to come. It's been soured slightly by the fact we lost but it was a great feeling to score it in front of the Holte End."

Source: Stuart James, The Guardian on 21 Dec 11

Arsenal agree loan move for Yossi Benayoun

Arsenal has confirmed that they have agreed to sign Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun on a season-long loan deal.

The Israeli captain arrives at Emirates Stadium with a wealth of Premier League experience, having spent successful spells at West Ham United and Liverpool before his move to Stamford Bridge.

The 31-year old started his career in Israel with Hapoel Be’er Sheva, before sealing a move to Maccabi Haifa.

A switch to La Liga with Racing de Santander followed in 2002 before the midfielder secured a move to England in 2005 with then Premier League newcomers West Ham United. After excelling at Upton Park, Benayoun moved to Liverpool in 2007, scoring 18 goals in 92 appearances for the Reds, before his switch to Premier League rivals Chelsea in July 2010.

Everyone at Arsenal wishes Yossi every success during his time with the Club.

Source: Arsenal.com on 31 Aug 11